28 May 2009: Rajendra Pachauri, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has agreed to serve as board chair of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, US.

The Institute works to understand, anticipate and manage climate risk in order to improve human welfare in fields such as agriculture, water resources and public health.
During IRI’s last board meeting, Pachauri stated that “Climate change gives us an opportunity to re-engage with the rest of world, and the IRI is uniquely placed to do that.” Commenting on Pachauri’s new role, Stephen Zebiak, IRI Director-General, underlined that Pachauri would help IRI “in engaging the growing international agenda on adaptation and climate risk management.”
[Earth Institute Press Release] [IRI Website]